The timing of early life events and growth rate estimates of age‐0 year group brill Scophthalmus rhombus along the west coast of Ireland

Abstract

The timing of spawning and hatching, larval durations and growth exhibited by juvenile brill Scophthalmus rhombus captured along the Irish west coast were estimated using otolith microstructure analysis. Scophthalmus rhombus were estimated to have hatched between February and May, with fish settling onto nursery grounds between March and June. Fish collected later on in the season exhibited higher otolith growth rates in comparison to earlier collected fish. This is the first study to describe the early life history of a commercially valuable but understudied flatfish species.